Wow, it has been a busy couple of weeks. I have had little time to write. It’s funny as what is driving me the most nuts about this is my community is asking for information. There are specific topics they want me to write about. They have questions and I haven’t had time to answer. I solidified an editorial calendar and have a good plan to deliver some solid content the next few weeks.

The purpose of this post today is to discuss the value we offer our audiences. It’s not news to anyone has ever been on the internet that there is no shortage for information. 500 million users on Facebook, 24 hrs of video uploaded every minute, one new LinkedIn user every minute and the list goes on. As more and more people hop on the internet and engage in social media the noise and clutter is getting louder and deeper.

I think the one thing that is getting lost when new people jump on to social media is that it is a conversation. Many jump on Facebook and Twitter and use it as an ad platform. They take the same content they would advertise in the local Chamber directory and blast it hundreds of times on the social platform.

Social Media: Are Your Social Conversations Delivering Value

As business leaders we can control how our social conversations start. We obviously can’t always control conversations that are not started by us. However, you can absolutely influence the tone and message of the social platforms we drive and own. We can ensure they are engaging, inspirational and add value to the audience we desire to connect with.

I recently received an invitation to a local Facebook fan page. The company is well run and has a decent brand in the local market. I was immediately excited to see them on Facebook when I saw the invitation. However, once I clicked on the link to view their page I was quite disappointed. What should my social nut eyes find? All that was posted on their wall was announcements of how you could receive a free maintenance assessment. It had to be posted on the page 10-15 times the past week! The sad thing is there were very few other posts.

I have two primary concerns with my visit to this Fanpage. The first is they are doing nothing to add value to their audience. There were some tips earlier in the stream but it seems once they launched the free maintenance campaign the conversation became consumed by the word FREE FREE FREE! My second concern is that they are dilluting their own brand. By only talking about free trials and free services they are leaving brand mind prints of the word free.

Yes, value is good when we can save money. However, we also need to be sure to balance with the value of our services. Why is something we offer for FREE worth anything? If we only ever talk about the FREE part of our story, the value gets lost in the noise.

I am not certain if this particular business has a social media consultant executing their social media. If they do, the person should be fired. If they don’t they probably need one.